When beginning Integrated Studio 1 in the Fall, we were asked to bring in five objects of significance to us. I chose five, mainly nostalgic objects that all have a connection to a warm memory of my past. We then began to explore each object; both its personal emotional presence and its objective physical one. I created an observation focused sketch for each object, attempting to pay close attention to the object to render its appearance in high detail.
From here, we were tasked with combining our sketches with a typed definition (formal or not) and creating a multimedia piece in Photoshop. I used simple, sans-serif type and two colors for each image, selecting colors that I feel represent the object best. The two blocks of text are a formal, dictionary definition, followed by the anecdote I initially wrote down for each object in my sketchbook.
Our next task in exploring these object was to choose one to focus one. I decided to choose the tape cassette. This is because I feel it was the most interesting looking object, and one that aesthetically appealed to me the most. Besides the foot, the others are simple rectangle shapes. The tape has interesting detail and physicality; you can see through it and into it. Furthermore I feel it has a greater sentimental value than the others. The other objects represent poignant and important times and memories in my childhood, but the tape and its use spans a greater time period than any of the others. I parents use to play it when I went to bed to help me fall asleep, and I used it up until we ended up getting a CD version of the same music. The tape represents a constant, slow-burning yet deeply rooted memory and feeling, whereas the others, although still important to me, don’t have that same level of depth that the tape does.
We were then tasked with investigating the physicality of our chosen object in three dimensions through carving it out of soap. Honestly, I did grow a better understanding and appreciation for my chosen object through this exercise.
This tape went on to inform my major project for the rest of the semester. Please see my Final Project post for more information.
